


Into The Dark, Last Time, I Promise

by DunningKrugerExplainsEverything



Category: Angela: Asgard's Assassin, Angela: Queen Of Hel, Marvel (Comics)
Genre: F/F, Femslash February
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5992633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DunningKrugerExplainsEverything/pseuds/DunningKrugerExplainsEverything
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wayward things are best left be. The Hierophants should never have tried to steal Sera away from Angela. Angela/Sera fic, written for Femslash February.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into The Dark, Last Time, I Promise

The cathedral was in flames.

Parts of the roof were crumbling away and falling into the blaze. The stained glass windows were flickering and glowing as enormous fires burned behind them – now and then, you could hear loud _cracking_ noises as they shattered in the heat. Like a greedy beast devouring its helpless, wounded prey, the inferno feasted upon the great edifice, the flames reaching higher and higher into the sky.

High above in the air, the Angels of Heven swarmed about in the skies, and watched. They flapped and fluttered about, shouting and chattering.

“Angela declared war against the Temple!” one Angel said.

“ _War against the Temple?”_ cried another, aghast. “Has she gone _mad?”_

“All the churches in Heven are burning!” said another. “Everywhere you go! Every shrine, every monastery – they're all ablaze!”

“But...but that's impossible!” said yet another. “Who are her _allies?_ Has...has she raised an army, somehow?”

“She has no allies,” said another. Silence settled upon the Angels; they hovered about in the air, watching in horror as the fires burned and the cathedral collapsed to the ground.

“She did it all by herself,” an Angel said, her voice barely a whisper. “She is wandering about Heven, and everywhere she goes, there is nothing but blood and carnage. She is hunting down all the Hierophants, and leaving them butchered and dead on the ground by their altars. She is burning all the temples down. She won't be satisfied until there's nothing left but ash and smoke.”

 

()()()()()()()()()()

 

It was only a matter of time until word reached the Queen of Angels.

“Angela is attacking the Temple?” The queen frowned in confusion, for a moment...and then she burst out laughing. “That is simply _scandalous!_ Angela never struck me as the _libertine_ sort...”

The queen's lieutenants stood arrayed before her. They had all gathered here to inform their liege of the complete and utter chaos currently engulfing her realm.

“My queen, all of the Temple's shrines have been destroyed,” said one Angel. “Witnesses tell us that, in each case, Lady Angela entered through the main doors, slaughtered all of the Hierophants and their guards, set the building on fire, and then left for her next target.”

“She has also desecrated the crypts,” said another Angel. “According to reports, Lady Angela invaded the catacombs and tombs. Sepulchres were torn open, corpses dragged out of their resting places, bones scattered about. By...by the sound of things, it seems she's gone utterly insane.”

“In addition, she has also trespassed into the undercity of the Anchorites,” said another Angel. “As before, she murdered all of the Hierophants...but, she did not harm the Anchorites themselves, however. She told them that they could leave. She told them that they were _free.”_

The Queen of Angels thoughtfully stroked her chin. “Cathedrals burning down, crypts desecrated, men roaming Heven with abandon...how _blasphemous!”_ The Angels shifted about uncomfortably as their queen cackled with filthy laughter. “Oh, Angela, this is sure to endear you to certain... _debauched_...elements of society.”

The queen chuckled to herself for another moment, and then she returned her attention to her lieutenants. “Tell me, is she _alone?”_ she said. “Has Angela decided to launch an assault upon the Temple all by herself? That would be _brazen_...even for her.”

One of the Angels shook her head. “No, my queen,” she said. “She has one accomplice with her: her lover, the bard Sera.”

At this, the queen sat up in her throne, and her eyes shone. “Aaah, _I see!”_ The queen began compulsively snapping her fingers as pieces fell into place and the story began to make sense. “Ohohohoho! I _warned_ those idiots. Those Hierophants. The _fools._ I warned them not to interfere with Angela's beloved. I told them what would happen if they tried to take her little angel away from her. _Hah!”_

The Queen of Angels settled back into her throne, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “I told them what would happen,” she said. “Oh, I _do_ so love being proven right.”

A few moments passed by in silence. The Angels looked at one another, confused.

“Ah, my queen?” one of the Angels said, eventually. “The Hierophants have requested our immediate assistance. They demand that Angela and Sera be placed in chains, and then publicly executed for their crimes.”

“Our forces are prepared to set out at once,” said another Angel. “We can hasten to the Temple's aid, and hunt down and capture Angela! Shall I give the orders, my liege?”

The queen snorted, and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “No, no, no, no, no,” she said. “Those Hierophant imbeciles should have stayed in their tunnels. They were _safe_ there. But instead they had to try and snatch Angela's little pet. Now, she believes that the only way she can protect her lover is by leaving the Temple in utter ruin. I will have no part of this. Tell the Hierophants that Heven will not be interfering in the Temple's internal affairs.”

The queen flashed her teeth, her eyes gleaming with dark mirth. She rubbed her hands with glee.

“When the Temple is destroyed, Heven will be mine, and mine alone,” she breathed. “And I didn't have to pay Angela a single penny.”

 

()()()()()()()()()()()()

 

There was a long trail of blood. It lead down a dark corridor, and then through an open door, and then across the inner sanctum, and then there was a Hierophant lying on the ground, clutching its sides and gasping for air.

“ _Blasphemerrrrrr,”_ the Hierophant snarled. He was trying to force himself up, trying to stand, but his arms and legs were wobbling and trembling, and he could not rise. _“The atrocities thou hast wrought this day! Our temples, burning and crumbling! Our shrines and altars, befouled with blood!”_

“Yup yup yup yup yup yup,” Sera said, skipping about just outside of the Hierophant's reach. “When I was a little Anchorite, I promised myself, over and over and over again, that one day I'd burn this forsaken place to cinders, and _oooohhhh,_ it feels so _good!”_

Sera stopped bouncing about, then, and clapped her hands together. _**“HOWEVER!**_ Despite the wanton chaos and destruction that we have visited upon the Temple, you may perhaps have noticed that we have not caused any damage – _at all_ – to any of the Temple's _libraries.”_ Here, Sera gave a prod of her finger to emphasize the point. “All of the Temple's archives and deposits: intact. All of the books that the Temple has collected over the centuries and millennia: untouched. All of the Temple's priceless tomes and grimoires: completely undamaged.”

Sera nodded sagely. “You see, there's nothing that makes me _angrier_ than when books are disrespected.” At this, her nose wrinkled in disdain. “I told Angela to be really careful not to destroy any of the archives. All the books have been saved, and when this is done, I'm going to read them all. All of them.”

Sera gave a fond smile, as she pondered the countless hours of reading ahead...and then she looked down at the Hierophant, and her expression went cold. “You'll be dead, of course,” she said, with more than a hint of a growl. “No more books for _you,_ O Hierophant.”

The Hierophant thrashed and twisted about on the floor. _“Thou hast betrayed thine brethren!”_ Hierophants' voices were horrifying enough to begin with – this Hierophant was choking on his own blood, which did not help matters. _“The Temple of Heven granted thee sanctuary from the cruel world beyond, and you repay us thus?”_

Sera straightened her back, and looked down her nose at the fallen abomination. “I don't need protection from the cruel world,” she said, her voice dangerously low. “Cruel _suits me.”_

There was the sound of footsteps, and Sera turned round.

Angela emerged from the shadows of the sanctum. She had a sword in either hand – the blades were stained with blood. There were streaks of blood down Angela's face. There was blood trickling down her arms and legs. On the left side of her belly, there could be seen a red handprint – in their final moments, an enemy had placed their bloodied hand against Angela's abdomen, and then they died.

Sera sunk her teeth into her lower lip. _Damn,_ she thought, as she watched Angela approach. _That's...that's really twistedly hot._

At Angela's appearance, the Hierophant's claws scratched at the ground in impotent fury. _“Heretiiiiic!”_ he raged. _“Thou wouldst wage war against the Temple for thine own selfish lust? Art thou such a lonesome, miserable creature, Huntress Angela, that thou wouldst destroy the Temple, so that thou could spend thine days with the only pathetic wretch in Heven that could love thee?”_

Sera turned back, and gazed down at the creature sprawled before her. “All you had to do was leave us alone,” she said, her voice quiet. “Would that have _really_ been so difficult? All you had to do was forget that we ever existed, and none of this would have happened. Instead, you came for me _in my bed. In my sleep.”_ Sera gave an involuntary shudder, at the memory of this. “At least we had the common courtesy to come kill you when you were _awake_. Standards!”

Angela arrived at Sera's side. Her expression was utterly blank – her opaque white eyes told nothing of the bloodshed and carnage this day had seen. She passed one of her swords to her ribbons, and then she reached forward, and took Sera's chin in her hand. She examined her a moment.

“Were you hurt?” she asked.

“No,” Sera murmured. At Angela's touch, a wave of calm seemed to wash over her. “I'm fine.”

They gazed at one another, and then Angela's hand fell away. She left a large smudge of blood on Sera's chin.

Angela and Sera looked down at the monster at their feet.

“So, what's it going to be, O Hierophant?” Sera said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Decapitated and stabbed through the heart, or blown to little gory bits by magic?” The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. “We're taking requests.”

 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 

The sanctum had fallen silent, at last. No more clashing of steel. No more shouting, or screaming.

“It's funny,” Sera said. She was standing at the very centre of the chamber, peering about at the tapestries, the statues, the parchments, the carvings, all partly obscured by shadows. “I spent an entire lifetime in a place like this, a prisoner.” She rubbed her elbow, absently. “It feels weird being here as a...as a _conqueror_. A _destroyer_.”

“But that is precisely what you are,” Angela said, standing a little way off. “A conqueror. An Angel mercenary. That is what Sera truly is.”

Sera gasped, and her eyes went wide with amazement. “Did...did The Great Angela just _endorse my abilities as a warrior?”_ Sera clasped her hand over her mouth. “I'm going to get _such_ an ego over this.”

Angela gave a faint smile, and looked away.

When a battle ended, Sera noticed, Angela always seemed to assume the same particular demeanour. She stood, as she always did, with poise and elegance, but there was a certain _droop_ in the shoulders, a certain _slackness_ in the arms, as though she was disappointed that there were no more opponents left for her to eviscerate and dismember.

“The Temple is destroyed,” Angela said, with a sigh. “The Hierophants are all dead.”

“Yes,” Sera said, her voice a breathy whisper. The magnitude of what they had done was beginning to dawn on her. “I'm free, Angela,” she said, wonder on her face. “I'm free. I'll never have to worry about them taking me again. I'll never have to look over my shoulder, ever again, for as long as I live.”

Angela closed the distance between her and Sera, until they were standing directly before each other. Sera could see the dried blood on her face, dark and faded brown. She could see the gleaming of sweat on her skin – could imagine the taste of salt and steel on her tongue.

“If I had known that it would bring you peace,” Angela said, peering into her eyes as she spoke, “I would have destroyed the Temple the moment we met.”

The ribbons were dancing about in front of Sera. She reached out, and seized them in her hand, and then Angela was being pulled forward and down, and their lips crushed together.

As their tongues mingled and pushed at one another, Angela wondered at how Sera's mouth tasted like _magic words,_ recently uttered.

They kissed and kissed...and then, suddenly, Sera had an idea.

Sera broke the kiss, and looked to her side. At the far end of the sanctum, at the top of a set of steps, there stood an enormous marble altar, decorated with elaborate reliefs and carvings. The altar was laden with golden chalices, holy texts and ancient relics, all arranged upon a silk red cloth.

Sera stared at the altar for a moment, and then she turned back to Angela. There was a scandalous sort of _challenge_ in her eyes, now.

“Angela?” Sera said, her voice low.

“Hmmm?”

“I want you to make love to me on that altar.”

Angela raised a questioning eyebrow...and then she took Sera's hand, and began leading her up the steps.

The altar was swept clean, golden chalices and holy texts and ancient relics clattering on the floor. Before long, pieces of armour began to fall on the ground alongside them – Sera's pauldrons, and then Angela's headpiece, and then Sera's greaves, and then Angela's gauntlets.

Deep beneath the surface of Heven, in the Temple of the Anchorites, there was nothing left but two bloodstained Angels, lain upon an altar, and corpses all around them.

 


End file.
